The date until my flight to San Diego, to begin the PCT, was now only a matter of a few months away. This time Dad suggested I go to the Mount Sommers area to do another weekender. The plan was to drive up the Fridah night after work and camp at the trail head on the Mount Sommers end of the hike and then I will be picked up by my parents in Staverley on the other side. I was promised lunch with the parentals and I was like bonus! What more motivation do I need!
This trip is very special to my Dad. He did this route when he was in his twenties or early thirties with his friends. He always brings it up and it is such a special core memory for him. Dad did the North face route which was different than from what I wanted to do, but it was still so special to be able to do a trek that meant so much to him.
The Mount Sommers area is very chose your own adventure. I could go the northern route, the southern route, a mix across the two and a route up to the summit. Since I was getting picked up on the other end of the track (north from where I was) I had some freedom, but knew that I had to get to the other side at a certainish time.
Spoiler alert: I over planned again!
Counting down the minutes until I finished work, I was excited. I got in my car and drove the few hours to the trail head. Fortunately, there was a space where I could camp before heading out on the trail. There even was a bathroom!
Straight away I realised I had a few problems. When I attached my fly to my tent the last time, I had attached it incorrectly, so now the door position on the fly did not correspond with the door position on the tent. I was tempted to be lazy and somehow wedge myself into it, but I knew it was better to resolve this now, rather than later on the trail. Fidling with the tent always takes ages and I felt like a muppet wearing my work uniform in the middle of nowhere with my head stuck in between the folds of the tent.
It was then that I realised that I forgot my phone charger and charging cable so I couldn’t even charge my phone in the car. I had already called my parents at the turn off before I drove into the trail head; because I knew that the whole trip would have no cell phone reception. Unless I drove back to the turn off, I had no way of getting in contact with them. I also didn’t have my garmin with me, just a good old fashioned PLB (personal locator beacon). I thought, oh well, ce la vie, it is what it is and made sure I did what I could to keep the charge on my phone. I mean worst come to worst, I had a plan to meet up with my parents, so all I had to do was get there.
Once I set up my tent and got ready for bed, I sat down to make a hot chocolate. Since I was super tired, I accidentally put the hot chocolate mix into the pot instead of the cup! I then realised I had forgotten my lighter! My stove does have a petzel igniter, but sometimes those things are fickle. I spent some time clicking it and wasting gas unti it finally worked. Then, the pot must have not been balanced right on the stove because just minutes later I watched my hot pot of hot choc fall tragically off my cooker and even some of it landed into my tent! I was so determined to have another hot drink so I made another hot chocolate. This time I sat in my tent with the door open, reading my bible with the head lamp. It was all fun and games until a moth was attracted to my head lamp. I took a massive swoop at it with my hand, without thinking it was attached to the mug carrying the hot chocolate! Yet again, I had hot chocolate all through my tent and all over my bible. See this is why I always carry a towel! I also forgot my tooth paste so no clean teethypegs for me.
After those tragic moments I went to bed and got up when my body woke me up. I was on a very go slow kinda morning. Sure, I was packed for my adventure, but I had shopping bags full of stuff that I still had to repackage. It took me a few hours to get organised and it wasn’t until 9:30am that I hit the trail. It always stresses me out seeing people arrive and leave before I start walking, but times like this remind me that I just take longer than others to get ready and that’s okay.
I was so keen to get on trail that I did not even check the trail head signs or the information board and I ended up starting the trail on the wrong trail head! The two entrances to the park were so close and they ended up going to the same direction, so it did not matter but I did feel stupid. The track that I was going up was called the miners route and it followed up a track to an old mine which was a super steep route but super interesting. From the mine, the plan was to go on the North face route to Woolshed Creek hut. This route is notorious for being New Zealand’s shortest back country hut route. Going from the normal trail head (not the one I took) it takes about 1 to 3 hours to do and is popular for families with children. After I got to the hut the plan was to go on this route called the bus stop route which links back to the South face route and then I would take the South face route all around to the North. The route up the summit was on the northern side so the plan was to get up there and camp at the end of the day. Sunday was going to be a short day (after learning my lesson on the St James adventure). All it was going to be was a down hill day finishing around lunch time and giving me amble time to recover for work the next day.
I had planned this trip to be a PCT shake down; carrying 4 litres of water and all the gear I plan to be taking. My bag i think was around 10 kg (22 pounds) with two days of food. It was sort of heavy but I was impressed with this pack weight. I was carrying two pairs of shoes because my podiatrist suggested I should do this for the PCT. He said that we walk differently in different types of shoes and that by swapping shoes out it can give our bodies a sort of reprieve. He reccomend that I take my topos but also think about taking a completely different type of shoe – so I was carrying hoka speed goat boots. I thought that if I was going to try this on the PCT, then I may as well try it on my shake down as well.
The mine was awesome and after having a look around I found a spot around the corner to go to the bathroom. I found two sets of people that were now ahead of me on the trail. It’s so silly but I wanted to pass them. How dare they pass me! I’m this fit, strong, adventurous almost thru hiker – with obviously an ego to boot. This brought back memories to my first shake down hike, where no one past me the whole time. It was a ridiculous assumption but it made me feel fast and unpassable – even though there may have been no one else walking then.
I sped off with my ego and passed both groups of people. They just both seemed to be walking sooooo slow and I didn’t want them to slow me down. I had a lot of mileage to do today! The first group I had to pass was this girl and this older man which looked like he could be her father. They looked fit and had small packs – obviously going for a day walk. The group ahead was two boys and a girl – all in their twenties-ish. This group seemed a bit incongruous. One of the guys had this professional traditional pack made from Cactus Outdoors (New Zealand made) which he was wearing a bit lop sided, the girl had a smaller pack and the other guy did not have a pack at all! I felt like a total ninja passing them all but this feeling did not last long. I was absolutely gunning it! My heart rate was going through the roof and I was getting out of breath. I keep my pace going for a while as I was determined to not be passed but the track just kept going up. After a few moments I caved, especially since the trail seemed to go steadily up. I turned around me and hot on my tail was the girl and her Dad. They were so silent. How embarrassing, were they right behind me for ages?
I let them pass me and watched as they galloped up the mountain. I had to remind myself also that I had heaps more gear than them as yes I was training for the PCT. Man, I really struggled up the next part. The track to Woolshed Creek hut may be the shortest back country hut track but it was still really steep! It seemed like I was just going straight up the mountain! The girl and the Dad were so quick and I never saw them again. The young ones were hot on my tail but I am proud to say they did not pass me as I got up the mountain. And man the views were spectacular up the top!
The young group had a break at the top at the same time I did. They were really nice and offered me a cookie which I could obviously not refuse. I used this time to dry my tent in the sun since the spot down by the trail head was right next to a creek and the condensation took over. After I dried my gear, I began my descent down the other side of the mountain. It wasn’t long until I saw Woolshed Creek hut and all of a sudden I was there. The down hill was super easy and once I got there, I found a perfect bench that no one was using. It was a hot day and after eating my lunch, I made a cup of tea to sit and soak my feet in the creek. In hindsight I should have also used this opportunity to dry my down quilt (plot twist it was still damp when I slept in it that night).
At the Woolshed Creek hut there were two lovely families with young children that were staying together. They were making the most of the glorious weather. It was nice to see families taking advantage of our incredible backyard in New Zealand. Typical me, I slipped down the rocks as I was making my way to the creek and spilt eighty percent of my cup of tea on me! Fortunately, I don’t think any of the families saw anything. So there I was, drinking the shrapnel left of my tea while soaking my feet. The kids were playing around and one of them called to the others to say that there was a massive fish in the stream. It was just awesome seeing them all gather around and get so excited by something of nature and not some electronic screen. When I was doing the dishes, I got talking to this lovely woman who wished me well on my PCT adventures. It was nice to talk to her and it gave me the energy boost I needed to get going and do the next part of my route – the bus stop track.
Gosh, if I thought the first part of the track was steep, this part was no joke! This track was significantly steep the whole way, right up till the bus stop overhang; which was the highest point of this section. This section included fun times like the sign saying “don’t go any further – steep cliff. Death is imminent” or something to that degree.
I went over a pretty cool swing bridge over a steep gully. Here, I saw the young ones having a swim!
My next adventure was right after the swing bridge, when some how I started doing some full on scrambling over these rocks and I realised that I had lost the trail! This made the lesson come into mind about the PCT. The PCT is graded for horses – so anything you go over that’s super steep means you are probably on the wrong trail.
Almost at the top of this steep section I saw this family with a young kid coming the other way. They said I was almost at the overhang! Yusss! I was very impressed that kids were doing what I was doing. What got me up the top was the back country cuisine dehydrated chocolate milkshake which I had with me. Soft serve ice cream and chocolate flavouring – just add water and paradise!
Going up, I kept taking photos of the Woolshed creek hut because I kept thinking that each view of it would be my last, but for ages the track still had it in its view.
At the bus stop overhang was this awesome cave; which I decided to stop and have a break in. I tell you what though, I didn’t last long in there as I am from earthquake city and having an earth wall on top of me was very triggering! So I moved just slightly away from the overhang. I was very happy to sit down and have my milkshake. Absolutely delicious. I was tempted to wait for the next bus at the overhang, but obviously this sign was in jest rather than being the real deal – if only!
Going on the other side was windy and steep. It was such a hot day on a very exposed mountainous track. I was glad I had all that water because I needed to drink it! Something went wrong somewhere and somehow I fell over, on top of my trekking pole and bent it. Good thing it was aluminium not carbon fibre! After I gathered myself, I got up and continued on.
Up on the next part there was a high up board walk. Gosh, I absolutely love board walks. It was there to protect the precious alpine environment.
The track went down again before it went up again.
Sounding like a broken record – again this bus stop route was steep! The down hill bit was so steep there was even a chain to aid in the decent! At the bottom there was a stream where I filled my water bottles.
As time got on, I realised my extreme plan to also walk up to the summit was ambitious. I didn’t factor in elevation profile enough. The South face path was tricky. I thought I’ll be able to zoom by but this was falacy. It as rocky and steep. Not quite as steep as the bus stop but I had to pay attention to every foot step. There were big boulders in the way and the trail was pretty narrow. The progress was so slow and I was starting to feel down about the probability of getting to where I wanted to go. But I pushed on.
The track went through a forested area closer to the northern side of the mountain and then you could see the beautiful Canterbury Plains which painted the country side of the South side of Christchurch, my home town. Seeing them from up here was so spectacular and reminded me of home. It gave me the boost to keep going.
I passed another hut called the Acland shelter and continued on. It was getting later in the day now and I knew I had to call it soon but I was determined to keep going. As I was sneaking around the mountain, it was as if it’s magnificent presence was looking down at me and mocking me. “As if, you think you could climb me and go around me in one day – Ha!”. It was gorgeous though.
The trail continued to dip into some gorgeous forest lands and then started climbing steadily up. Again, I made another lame plan for myself. Okay no summit today but at least I can get to Staveley Hill which means that my day tomorrow would be less.
The last push was super hard. On I went – slowly – exhausted. Drained. Determined. But it was getting darker and darker now. I had to make a call soon and I knew I couldn’t get to the Staveley Hill. I was so close but I started looking for good camping spots. I had been hiking now for over 10 hours and all the spots I was looking at to camp were pretty average. Eventually I was like …Right! This will do! And dumped my pack down. Something made me turn around and I looked to just north of where I was and there was a perfect spot just north of me which was a designated camp spot – flat! Even cleared of foliage! I was so happy, you wouldn’t believe.
I got out my flash light and started setting up my tent. This was a whole different ball game to the St James. In the St James I had camped next to a back country hut and I knew I had people around me, but this was different. It was just me and the wilderness. This also was my first tramp wearing glasses, because usually I wear contacts at night that change the shape of my eye so I can see 20:20 during the day. For the PCT I didn’t want to put dirty fingers in my eyes so that was why I opted for glasses. But I wasn’t used to them! While setting up my tent they flopped off my face into the dirt. I didn’t even realise initially because the frames are titanium and then I really started to panic because I didn’t want to step on my new glasses in the pitch black darkness. Finally I found them using my head torch.
I dug a cathole and used it, then prepared a dehydrated meal which I couldn’t finish. My tent site had a perfect view of the summit and on the top I could see lights going around. I was a little jealous that I wasn’t there but I knew I couldn’t make it tonight and I could always come back another day. I was also hearing noises earlier of gun shots so I wondered if people were doing hunting.
The night was windy and cold. I felt like I could hardly sleep a wink! My heart was beating so fast and I realised it was mainly because of these energy gummies I was inhaling that were full of caffeine. Caffeine effects me terribly at the best of times, so my heart was really pumping. I had thought earlier about setting an alarm and seeing if I could get the summit in, but that was going to be impossible and I really needed my sleep.
I woke up groggy and exhausted. It was a late start and I was okay with that. I finished off my dehydrated meal from the night before and slowly started backing away my things. As my stuff was an absolute mess all around me, these two hunters showed up in the middle of nowhere. It always makes me nervous when people with big guns show up on a hiking trail – I hope they know where the trail goes! Even though they came from the bush they decided the best idea was to walk directly into my camp site which was a bit rude and then they disappeared into the bushes.
I got packed up and was just about to do one last wee before I left and then one of the hunters came back to where I was! He pulled out his binoculars and said he could see a Tahr in the distance. Their equipment is incredible! I wished him luck as he left and then did my business in the peace and quiet. Before leaving, I cleaned up the camp site from what other people had left before. There were egg shells everywhere!
The track snagged around the mountain for a while before the decent down the other side. The track dipped into some forest again and even some avalanche terrain before connecting up to the track junction to the summit.
The descent down was long and steep. I was thankful I had my boots on as these helped immeasurably on the steep down hill. On this side, I saw loads more people and most of them were just either day hiking or trail running to the summit. The weather started turning which I was glad for since I was running out of water (good old dry camping). It seemed like an eternity until I got down but I was so glad. Here, the trail connected with the North face track and I started talking to a lady who was doing the other side. She also expressed how steep and challenging the tracks were so I’m glad it was not just me. She offered me a lift down to the other trail head which I thanked her greatly for, but my parents were on their way to get me.
I stopped off at the long drop and then road walked to meet my parents in Staverley. When I got reception, I called my parents who had been staying in Farlie (south of Christchurch) for the weekend. They were on the way to meet me and I joked that I would beat them as they were delayed. It was not actually a joke – the race was on! After a while I swapped my shoes because I knew I could go faster in my topos. The farms around here were so cute! There was even some nosy cows.
So close to Staverley there was a free book deposity. I just couldn’t help myself. So here I was carrying three murder mysteries along with my trekking poles. Just at the end, my parents called me to say that they were in Staveley. Even though there was literally only a small bridge between me and Staverley I was annoyed – how dare they beat me! But to be fair I did stop and get the books. I’m a sucker for books! They asked where I was and when they saw a ghostly figure come through the fog in the corner of their view, they just couldn’t believe it! They started to drive towards me but I was determined to walk the whole way. I had finished and food awaits!
Epilogue: several days afterwards, Mum said, “did you see a Maori girl and a older man with her?”. Recalling my embarrassment, I said yes. Turns out that they are the daughter and husband of one of my mother’s customers. I’ve known this lady all my life and she calls me bub. She is one of my favourite humans. Small world! Apparently they said, man that girl had all the gear! And they were worried when I wasn’t right behind them at the top of the mountain. They said they even waited for me for a bit! They were so excited that I was going on the PCT and eager to here more about it. Slowly and surely, I am getting more ready for my adventure of a lifetime!
